Canal mainline into Birmingham closed after a luxury Land Rover driven into a canal lock at Tipton

A stretch of busy waterway was closed today (Monday, November 14) after a luxury Land Rover was driven into a canal lock.

The black motor, believed to be worth around £64,000, was discovered floating on its side in the New Main Line Canal in Tipton, on Sunday (November 13).

Mystery surrounds how the vehicle came to enter the water but the Canal & River Trust said there were no reported injuries and work is underway to remove it by crane.

Dramatic images show the car submerged in the water, which forced the closure of Factory Lock No 3 along the mainline into Birmingham. A Canal & River Trust spokesperson said: "Yesterday (Sunday) we were alerted that a Land Rover car had been driven into Factory Lock number 3 on the Main Line Canal in Tipton.

"Thankfully, there are no reports of anyone being injured, and we are working on plans to crane the car out of the canal. Following a site visit scheduled for today we are hoping the car will be removed tomorrow (Tue)." The trust had earlier tweeted: "There are no signs of pollution yet but we will continue to monitor."

One web user replied: "I know you should lock your car when in big cities, but that seems like someone’s misunderstood the instructions"

Another put: "Just when you thought you’d seen it all. Stolen I presume?" A third added "You can’t park there mate" and one person said: "Flooded the engine." Another commented: "Would love to hear how they explain that to the insurance company."